The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

OUTSPOKEN Fort Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins claims the vitriol aimed by his constituents towards him is misplaced, insisting that the failures of the Christie administration have landed every member of Parliament in dire straits with the electorate.

Dr Rollins’ comments came after several of his constituents criticised the quality of his representation since coming to office in 2012. On Friday residents said the MP was “the worst” the area has ever seen.

The disenchantment with Dr Rollins from the residents of Fort Charlotte has been no secret, with many calling on the Christie administration to force the MP to vacate the seat ahead of the 2017 general election.

When Dr Rollins crossed the floor of the House of Assembly last November to become a member of the Free National Movement, residents in Fort Charlotte rejoiced, hoping the move would lead to the return of beloved representative Alfred Sears. Dr Rollins quit the Progressive Liberal Party last June.

On Friday residents told The Tribune that Dr Rollins’ recent actions “sealed the fact” that he had no clue how to work on behalf of those who elected him. On Thursday night Dr Rollins was suspended from the House of Assembly after the latest of a series of run-ins with House Speaker Dr Kendal Major and escorted from Parliament by police officers.

In the Chippingham area of Fort Charlotte, several young voters said they were still awaiting delivery of the litany of promises made by Dr Rollins on the campaign trail in 2012.

“The park, the jobs, the help; these were things he promised. He told us all of that and now we only see him on ZNS acting stupid,” said 23-year-old Elliot McPhee.

Surrounded by other youth, the lifelong Fort Charlotte resident said: “He told us he was different from all the others. I have had to sit back all my life and watch this country be ran into the ground, so when he came along and told us he was different we believed him. Look at us, we all here struggling. It is a hustle just to get by and we trying to make it but the politics keeping a lot of us down.”

When asked what he believed to be the biggest failure of Dr Rollins’ tenure, Mr McPhee said emphatically: “He was never for us, he was always for himself.”

In fact, “selfish” was how many of the residents described Dr Rollins to The Tribune.

Northel Markland, a resident who boasted of being a constituent of Fort Charlotte from its inception, said Dr Rollins’s selfish nature has left many residents severely “scarred.”

“He is the worst we ever had. He was supposed to go in (the House of Assembly) and work for us, ensure that we were heard. He went to the House and worked for himself. Every opportunity he got, he did what was best for him, never for the people of Fort Charlotte.

“What happened to all of the promises he made to us? We are still suffering. A good MP would have come here to the community and discussed these matters with us. He has just vanished completely. We in Fort Charlotte have been abandoned,” she added.

On the weekend, Dr Rollins told The Tribune he doesn’t “blame the people of Fort Charlotte for being mad.” He said that the people are generally disenchanted with the state of our country and as a result every single MP “is feeling the pressure and being criticised as a result.”

Dr Rollins said the idea that his constituents would direct their frustrations toward him was only natural, suggesting that residents believe that he had a part to play in the government’s failure to bring the economic relief that was promised in their 2012 general election campaign.

“Well, I don’t blame the people of Fort Charlotte for being mad,” he said. “I am mad as hell, too. I’m mad that this government has failed to stimulate the economy to create jobs for the people of Fort Charlotte and throughout the country. I’m mad that constituents of Fort Charlotte have lost jobs at Baha Mar because this PLP government intentionally sabotaged the project as a means of protecting the interests of the project’s Chinese contractor.

“I’m mad about the fact that Chinese nationals are being favoured for construction jobs right around the corner at The Pointe hotel project that my constituents are not being considered for to help them earn income for themselves and their families.

“I’m mad because this PLP government has intentionally not funded the Fort Charlotte Urban Renewal office’s initiatives with the aim being to create a poor reflection on me among those seeking the office’s assistance. Never mind the fact that in doing so, they are hurting struggling constituents, quite a number of whom are PLP supporters. I am mad that many of the young people of Fort Charlotte can’t find constructive outlets to exercise their talents.”

Dr Rollins contended that much of the disenchantment expressed by constituents in Fort Charlotte and elsewhere is directly attributable to the extremely poor economy and lack of available jobs.

“Bahamians want to work. They want to be able to financially support themselves and their families and they are looking to the government to create an economy that will enable them to do that. This is the reality throughout this country and every single MP - PLP and FNM - is feeling the pressure and being criticised as a result.”

Dr Rollins said he refuses to be used as a scapegoat by this government for its own failings.

“I don’t now, nor did I previously, sit around the Cabinet table while I was a member of the PLP. That is where the blame resides - with the men and women of the Cabinet. Prime Minister Christie’s Cabinet failed to deliver on the big promises that they made during the course of the 2012 election campaign and now all of the MPs and the Bahamian people are suffering for it.

“I cannot and will not be blamed for the PLP’s actions and policies that have wrecked this economy. The PLP must carry the blame for the state of misery in Fort Charlotte and throughout this entire country. The best thing that the people of Fort Charlotte can do right now is understand that this economy will not get any better while the PLP, led by Perry Christie, remains in office.”